


Lost on the road of life (but not alone)

by HybrisAnaideia



Series: Survival is flexibility (and love is what you make of it) [1]
Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gardens, Dimension Travel, Gen, Other, Post Infinite Garden Shikakos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 18:26:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20840024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HybrisAnaideia/pseuds/HybrisAnaideia
Summary: Life is what you make of it. If we have no one, and nowhere to go, we can build a home together.





	Lost on the road of life (but not alone)

**Author's Note:**

> For Silver Queen. Thanks for giving us a wonderful story, and characters who have changed the game.

Shikako supposes that the iteration of “Shikako Nara” who set this in motion meant well. The plan was very neat, brilliant in its execution and function. She can see the logic behind it, the practicality of making a universal fix for all these realities. There’s even the emotional appeal, the idea being able to help all the iterations of friends and family who she must otherwise abandon.

But she can’t quite forgive that iteration for ensuring that she knew that the way home was shut to her. It’s one thing to know that life isn’t fair, that not everyone gets their happy ending. It is an entirely different thing to know, for certain, that _you_ will not get that happy ending.

* * *

She doesn’t handle the revelation well, as the now very, very dead Jashinists could attest to. But after the cleanup and ensuring Jashin won’t be prying into this dimension, there’s no avoiding it.

She is lost, exiled from her home.

Perhaps Gelel could send her on from whatever this reality was. But even if it could, without harming her now the void she had been jumping into was filled, what would be the point? To wander aimlessly through worlds, acting like an errant knight by helping the downtrodden and vanquishing the dragons?

She’s a kunoichi, not a knight. All she wants is for the mission to be done, so she can put her sword away and go home.

“…Might as well find out what this world is like before I make up my mind.”

It takes a little doing, as she’s no longer a cute kid that can charm civilians into ignoring the “ninja” aspect. Shikako has to put in some elbow grease, and some discreet bribes via transdimensional money she had accumulated in her journey.

As it turns out, the world is in line with the one she was from. It’s nothing like the one where the Uchiha and Senju had swapped narratives, and she had constantly felt incredibly awkward around a very emotive Senju Tobirama. Or the one where Uzumaki ruled the continent in a seal-based empire, and she had gotten swept up in a rebellion while greedily studying all the seals she could find. Or that one where everyone capable of using chakra could become akin to the Shinto kami, and she’d had to aggressively deal with the fact that Madara had been a literal fallen god.

Shikako was very relieved to find it was merely sometime before the Third Shinobi War, but after the White Fang had been disgraced. She could handle this sort of world, she just needed to check on Konoha’s condition before trying to make up her mind.

Of course, Shikako would gripe to herself later, thinking that she had a plan meant it would go spectacularly wrong. It really was the luck of Team Seven that she stumbled across a hungover, nude Jiraiya out in the wilds behind an onsen.

* * *

Shikako had known, vaguely, that Kakashi-the-kid was extremely different from her teacher or any other iteration of adult-Kakashi she had run into. She hadn’t met the kid before, but she’d heard enough comments in every world that suggested he had completely changed as he grew up. Shikako had been pretty curious to see what this kid would be like.

She really regrets wanting to meet this brat. She’s had the Shinobi Handbook quoted at her…a lot. She hadn’t had the heart to keep count after the fifth time within two days.

Shikako glances at Sakumo out of the corner of her eye, deciding to consider her…Babysitter? Guarantee that she wouldn’t vanish? Whatever, her companion.

She wonders how long it had been since he had been outside. Not to train – though she suspected he hadn’t done that in far too long – but just to be around people. Shikako’s been in this Konoha for about a week now, and they hadn’t left the Hatake household once.

Food was getting a little low, even if bratty-Kakashi was off with his sensei. And since she couldn’t go anywhere without Sakumo so long as she wished to stay in Konoha…

“Hey, uh. We need to go shopping.”

He blinked slowly, before his face seemed to lose what little color it had.

“Ah…I see. Yes, we’re running low on food aren’t we…”

Sakumo got up with an unsteadiness that no shinobi of his caliber should have, and Shikako made a snap decision right then and there.

She had spent enough time with him, and heard enough while figuring out what this world was like, to know that Sakumo didn’t deserved to be trapped in his home. He hadn’t abandoned his team, had gotten them all home alive despite the odds, only for them to turn around and stab him in the back; all while the rest of Konoha added their own kunai when they could.

She was going to put the fear of a pissed off Nara in anyone who tried to start shit with the man, so help her Gelel.

* * *

“So. You nearly got arrested for threatening a civilian, all while I’ve been trying to get you a temporary stay in Konoha. Luckily for all of us, you managed to get off with a warning after getting the Uchiha officer on your side.”

Shikako gave Jiraiya a cool look, not backing down. It had been worth it to smack down that asshole who had the guts to try and sell them rotting food.

“Sakumo-san doesn’t deserve their treatment. The mission went bad, but he got his team home. Wasn’t this place founded on prioritizing lives?”

Jiraiya’s lips twitched before he gave up and grinned at her. “Already so familiar with him, eh?”

Shikako shrugged. Getting agitated by the insinuation would only spur Jiraiya on, and she wasn’t exactly _against_ getting on familiar terms with Sakumo. He was a good shinobi, and she had a feeling he would make an excellent friend.

“Fine, fine, I won’t tease anymore. You should know though, Sensei actually decided to approve on a temporary basis due to this.”

It really shouldn’t be so surprising for the Sandaime to _not_ be an obstacle. But maybe it was due it being a very impolitic move to take Sakumo’s side, when an infiltrator would have kept quiet?

“Shikako-san, the tea is ready. Are you and Jiraiya done speaking?”

Jiraiya looked alarmingly pleased with himself as Sakumo poked his head in politely, despite them all knowing that he didn’t have to.

“You know what? Yeah, yeah we are. Go have some tea Nara, maybe even get this dog to try some shogi.”

“Only if you play too, Jiraiya.”

Shikako quietly smiled as Jiraiya’s face softened with honest happiness at that quiet rejoinder, as Sakumo left the room. It looked much better on him than his usual exaggerated expressions.

It was nice to have friends, right Sakumo?

* * *

“Shikako, there you are.”

She looked away from the walls of the Nara compound, only to stare at what Sakumo had in his hands.

“Sakumo…Why do you have a cake?”

He smiled, shoulders moving like he wanted to rub the back of his neck before remembering he had a cake literally on hand. “Ahh, you forgot? Today’s your birthday. And I wanted to spend it with you before the Hokage…”

Before Sarutobi made his final verdict on whether or not she could stay, be a shinobi for Konoha. He had dragged it out for almost two years now despite the quiet opening to the Third War. Jiraiya had raved about how he couldn’t understand why his Sensei kept putting off making the choice more than once when he came to visit them, and even Sakumo had quietly agreed. But Shikako had her suspicions; and her plans on how to deal with them, as soon as she knew what the hell the verdict was. 

“Aren’t they going to deploy you soon Sakumo? You should be with Kakashi–”

“No. I’m where I need to be. It’s my best friend’s birthday you see, and she shouldn’t be spending it alone; especially not here.”

Shikako smiled helplessly at the man as he repeated her words back to her from when _she_ said them to him on _his _birthday.

“That’s a terrible copy of my voice.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t specialize in this then.”

“It really is.”

He chuckled at her sarcasm, and looked wonderfully alive in the bright sunset as he smiled widely. “Come home with me, Shikako?”

“Yeah. Let’s go home Sakumo.”

* * *

She never found her way back and never got her happy ending. But she kept walking along the road, hand in hand with someone just as lost as her.

It was enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Some Epilogue bits 
> 
> • Shikako does get her full and unconditional acceptance as a Konoha citizen and shinobi. Sarutobi was hemming and hawing due to 1. Danzo, 2. Trying to Explain Shikako the Obvious Nara to the Nara. Eventually he bit the kunai after stalling it as long as possible, timing it so neither party had the time to ream him out due to the escalating war.  
• Shikako politely and firmly requests to be made Sakumo's partner when he's deployed. She doesn't trust that his progress won't be sabotaged if he's alone, and will sooner kidnap him before letting him get assigned to That Squad. They make an abso-fucking-lutely terrifying duo, which quickly slots them alongside the Sannin. It doesn't hurt that they actually get along outside combat.  
• Shikako colludes with Minato about getting Kakashi to actually Talk to Sakumo. It's a horrible disaster of a event, but it does set them on the road to fixing their relationship.  
• Confirming Shikako's suspicions from her dimension hopping, Danzo starts making moves on the prime Hokage candidates. Shikako in turn starts making *her* moves.  
• Shikako is positively weirded out that Orochimaru isn't...evil. Or crazy. He's not a good person, and has some very skewed morals, but he's not a monster yet. Sakumo watches in amusement while she circles the increasingly confused Snake Sannin.  
• Shikako's strange friendship with Orochimaru begins with him demanding she explain a seal he's never seen, only for her to demand he explain a Earth jutsu. It...is slow going, because Orochimaru hasn't ever *had* friends who weren't assigned as his teammates for years.  
• Sakumo asks whether or not they're going to adopt Orochimaru. Shikako growls at him.  
• Danzo goes down HARD. So very, very hard. Sarutobi has no chance to be merciful with 6+ S-Ranks in the village, aware of Danzo's treachery.  
• Despite all the changes, Minato winds up getting the Hat in the end. No one else wants it, unless there's no other candidate to take it. During the Danzo Fiasco, Orochimaru and the others had to rotate in as Temporary Hokage while Sarutobi recovered. Orochimaru finds that he would rather cut off his hands than be the Hokage, even if he does like the power, prestige, and respect the title carries.  
• Jiraiya never stops heckling Shikako and Sakumo about their relationship. Sakumo always makes him choke on his words by giving as good as he got.
> 
> It's not perfect, but Shikako and Sakumo make it. They live long lives, and their happiness outweighs their grief most days. 
> 
> Fin


End file.
